Getting old combined with learning about God's truth is actually wisdom

Byline2:

The joints are starting ache. The mind does not seem to be as fast. Young guys run circles around me. Getting the weight off is twice as hard as putting it on. I don’t recognize the major stars of any major sport anymore. What happened to Larry Bird, Mickey Mantle, Cal Ripken, Pele, Johnny U. and John Wayne? I used to love video games. I can’t quite get my fingers to work that fast anymore. Things I used to care about have come and gone. Oh no! I must be getting old.

Along with growing old, I feel I am becoming old fashioned. “Old fashioned!” Double Oh No! Not me. I used to be wild and free. What is happening? Have we been invaded by aliens from Mars? Is there a pill to stop the madness? Help me!!!

Growing older is a natural consequence. We can’t avoid it. I am at that age where one wakes up to the fact that certain dreams will not come true, you can’t do what you used to no matter how hard you try and personal beliefs have changed with a bit of life experience we call “wisdom.”

My beliefs have changed a lot in the last few years. I think the biggest change is how I view the gospel. When I was young the gospel was something you believe that if God forbid there is a crisis, it gets you into heaven. Sure, you believe it but it does not necessarily go deep. Everybody tends to tell you what it looks like, smells like and is to act like.

One thing I discovered is that the gospel is not mine, its God’s. It is for Him to do what he wills with it. When we wake up to the truth that we are not in control and without the gospel we really have no hope, the only thing left is the gospel of Christ. It’s beautiful. It’s so full of grace that my words do it injustice. It is God’s love to selfish man. He gave it to us. I didn’t do a thing to deserve it. I probably still don’t. It was his gift to give. Forget the “stamp the ticket” to heaven thing. The gospel of Jesus Christ is alive and well. It is a lifestyle. It is life.

The other thing that has changed is my view on man. I used to think we could really help ourselves. There is a brand of Christianity that preaches a self-help faith. Guess what? Our hope is Christ and Christ alone. My righteousness is only found in him. Our hearts are wicked. All we need to do is mix in enough stress, pain and conflict to discover that while we might not act out on our thoughts, we are wicked. We just don’t tell anyone. It gets depressing, instead of a spiritual high all the time.

A lot of believers suffer from depression. The bad part is they seemingly can’t tell anyone they sit next to in the pew. That is a shame. Depression is common to man. We are fallen and we live in a fallen world. Sometimes we are spiritually dry no matter how much Bible we read, prayers we send and sermons we hear preached. It’s our lot in life. David expresses all sorts of signs of depression in the Psalms. Other Biblical heroes experienced depression. It’s called life.

The body of Christ, called the church, should be a place to be honest, seek help and gather support founded on our hope in our Lord Jesus. Instead, too often depression is used as a spiritual criterion. I once had a man tell me that I should never experience burnout if I walked with the Lord. Well, 30 years later he is wrong. Sometimes when I walk with the Lord and get involved in ministry, depression settles in. Why? When something so good as God’s grace is rejected, it hurts.

This is our world. What has changed the most is the understanding that God’s grace is the only truth. Without it, we are doomed. Redemption’s author is the grace of Christ, my Lord. My best act falls way short of the giving of God’s Son for us. The church is to be the last bastion for this truth. We’ve got to stop trying to figure out how to make others like us and become grace bearers. It is not a once-a-year checklist. It is a lifestyle. That is what has changed in me. Throw out the checklists. The gospel is life. There is nothing outside of it that has any value.

So maybe I’m getting old. That’s OK. Getting old combined with learning about God’s truth is actually wisdom. We need wisdom. James, the half brother of Jesus said that if we lack wisdom (it is implied that we do, without doubt) we should ask God who gives it to all men who ask. What has really changed? We might have a lot more information than ever before, but we need to pray for wisdom. Pray for wisdom. Sounds old to me. Sure is, it was written to us over 2,000 years ago by one who watched the whole life of Christ. Must be something there. I’m getting old. Bring it on.